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Neural mechanisms
The two neurotransmitters that are believed to be most associated with aggression are Low levels of Serotonin. High levels of Dopamine.
These chemicals allow impulses to be transmitted to another area. Therefore all behaviours are influenced by neurotransmitters.
Neural mechanismsSerotonin
Q: How does serotonin influence aggression?
A: In normal levels it exerts a calming, inhibitory effect. Low levels (esp: in the prefrontal cortex) remove the above effect, leaving the individual less able to control their impulsive/aggressive behaviour. Serotonin usually inhibits the firing of the amygdala (controls emotional responses). If there is less Serotonin, there is less inhibition Thus when stimulated by external events it becomes more active, causing the person to become more angry.
Dexfenfluramine- levels of
Raine (1993) carried out meta analysis of serotonin levels of anti social children & adults (esp. suicide attempts!) suggesting less serotonin leads to impulsive behaviour making aggression more likely.
serotonin manipulated to see if there are any changes in aggression. Mann et al (1990) administered the above drug to 35 healty males & gave questionnaire to PPs-Hostility & anger rose in males but not females.
Marks for AO1 are awarded for accuracy, detail, support & depth & breadth)
Neural mechanismsDopamine
How does dopamine influence aggression? The brain appears to see aggression as a reward (Couppis et al, 2008) Whenever we perform an activity we find rewarding, (sex, eating etc) the brain releases higher levels of dopamine, it attaches itself to our receptors & creates a pleasure circuit we therefore find this rewarding. We therefore repeat this cycle and this can lead to aggression becoming more frequent.
Unlike serotonin where the link is casual, the link with dopamine is less clear, the link suggests raised levels of dopamine are a consequence rather than a cause!!!!!!
Amphetamines
Use of amphetamines has been associated with increase in dopamine activity,however much is anecdotal!!! Cherek et al (1986) administered caffeine or amphetamines to PPs & found amphetamines raised hostility whereas caffeine reduced it.
Miczek (2000) measured dopamine in prefrontal cortex of male rats before during & after confrontation with other rat. They found increase in dopamine levels over baseline levels after the confrontation suggesting increased dopamine levels are the result not cause of aggressive behaviour. Marks for AO1 are awarded for accuracy, detail, support & depth & breadth)
Other factors as not all low serotonin suffers are violent EVIDENCE Booij et al (2010) longitudinal study. They measured aggression from parental & self reports & PET scans . Higher levels of aggression in children with low levels of Serotonin.
Alcohol, Serotonin & aggression Badawy (2006) alcohol caused major disturbances in metabolism of brain serotonin. In susceptible individuals can lead to aggression.
Exam help..
If you are going to introduce alternative explanations you must make good use of it If you are gong to use non human studies, use t for validity reasons, ethics would not be relevant.. Dont just describe it, but explain how it fits in with what you are suggesting...sometimes it is as simple as pointing out differences.
Hormonal mechanismstestosterone.
Q: How does Testosterone influence aggression.
Not a simple cause and effect: The action of testosterone brain areas involve Controlling aggression makes it more likely a specific behaviour will be displayed. Archer (1991) meta analysis on 5 studies and found positive correlation between Testosterone and aggression. Olweus et al (1988) comparison of delinquent boys & non delinquent male students. Higher levels of testosterone in delinquent sample, although not statistically significant!! Book et al (2001) Meta analysis of 45 studies found average correlation of +0.14 between testosterone & aggression.
Hormonal mechanismstestosterone.
Q: How does Testosterone influence aggression.
The challenge hypothesis (Wingfield et al 1990) In monogamous species testosterone should only rise above baseline level in response to social challenges, such as male-male aggression or threat to status.
What implications are there for politicians who wish to reduce aggression in our society?
Huh???
Genes act like the puppet master...they control the level of testosterone or oestrogen and how quickly it circulates around the body Genes are responsible for the sensitivity of synthesis receptors
So what does this really mean?????
Turner 2007
Commercial farmers might want to selectively breed non aggressive pigs and hypothesise that if selection pressure is placed on aggressiveness, the average aggressiveness of the herd would fall by 5%
MAOA=monoamine oxidase A
Discovered by chance by scientists in mice that had anger issues?!!! The role of the enzyme is to mop up excess, so mice lacking the gene would have unusually high levels of serotonin, noradrenaline & dopamine. MOAO-A deficient male mice quickly attacked intruders and failed to establish the usual dominantsubmissive relationships..resulting in more injuries when confined with other mice (Mattson, 2003).
Why concentrate on genetics & targeted dog breeds, not dog owners?
Kennel club
Genetics and Behaviour Genetics (breed) plays only a part in the temperament of an individual dog and scientific studies from around the world show that environment probably has a far greater effect. A large percentage of dog biting incidents are due to the irresponsible actions of owners, who have either not taken the time and trouble to train their dog correctly, or have indeed trained them to behave aggressively. Consequently any legislation based on genetics that ignores the influence of the dogs keeper on its behaviour is likely to be ineffective.
Why would scientists not be impressed with this statement?
Caspi et al (2002)
See worksheet for details........
In conjunction with all the information we have gone through, now would be a good time to consider your synoptic content.... Mesomorphic Ectomorphic Endomorphic Cesare Lombroso
What methodological problems occur with twin and adoption studies? What problems would you face as a researcher if you concluded aggression was almost entirely genetic? What might policy makers and Joe public make of the research? What if you concluded it was entirely environmental, what would the media, Joe public and policy makers make of your research? Would it be possible to identify individuals at risk prior to committing violent acts? Would this information be beneficial for society?
Mednick et al (1984)
What: 14,000 adoptees & found boys with no criminal parents (either adopt/biological) had baseline criminal conviction of 14%. RESULTS: If adoptive parents but not biological parents were criminals, boys still had conviction rate of 15%. If biological & not adoptive parents were criminals rate increased to 20%. If both sets were criminals rates increased to 25% CONCLUSIONS: The results seem to suggest biological characteristics increase the likelihood of anti social behaviour ad aggression is in part genetically transmitted from parent to offspring. And the effect is greater than environmental effect.
however.....
Observational ratings of lab behaviour found no evidence for heritability but strong family effect.